Jeff Spring is the Finance & Markets Editor at BusinessPundit.com. He's currently spending his days backpacking across Europe. While he may be living outside of the United States, he stays connected to American financial markets and M&A's more than is probably healthy for any single person. His love of a good book and a Bloomberg terminal can't be understated. He can be reached at JeffSpringer@BusinessPundit.com

Share this post

Tags

Home prices in 20 US cities have climbed at fastest rate since 2014

Home prices in 20 US cities have risen at the fastest pace since July 2014, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values.

Property values are up 5.8% from a year earlier in the month ended in November 2015, the biggest advance since July 2014, a report from the group showed.

Property values are being boosted as metropolitan areas suffer from a lack of inventory, which is pushing demand far beyond supply.

“There’s a positive underlying picture in the trend in home prices,” said David Sloan, a senior economist at 4Cast Inc. in New York. “As long as demand is strong, the price appreciation will persist. We expect it to continue this year.”

A second report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed prices increased 0.5% in November from the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Housing values are based on single-family properties financed with mortgages owned or securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Specific home prices were not included in this recent report.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index is based on a three-month average so the most recent report included September, October, and November averages.

Portland home values skyrocket.

The survey found that Portland, Oregon had the highest gain in housing prices. The average single-family home in Oregon increased by 11.1%. Chicago has the lowest increase at 2%.

Gains in November accelerated in 14 cities from the prior month.

Reports towards the end of 2015 showed that the housing market may be cooling, despite mortgage rates that have remained relatively low following the Federal Reserves decision to increase interest rates for the first time since 2007.